Scientists at UM’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science have turned to a new generation of researchers to help them track the path of oil spilled at sea: high school students.

Standing waist deep in the waters of Biscayne Bay, a shirtless Franco Baudino tossed the box-shaped device into the waves, then watched as it listed—a design flaw he knew would have to be corrected.

Only a few feet away, a small group of Baudino’s classmates took turns hurling their own vessels into the water, from a cone-shaped contraption with fins to a gadget that looked more like a spaceship than watercraft.